I just finished riding the first day of Bike Around the Bay. This is a 180 mile bicycle ride that completely circles Galveston Bay. Today I rode 94 miles. That's all good until you realize that all but about 10 miles had either a 17 mile per hour head wind or cross wind. That's what you call challenging conditions.
My favorite kind of riding is a tail wind going down a hill. You can go fast without much effort. It's fun. Riding into a strong wind for 84 miles is not always alot of fun.
One positive thing about the tough day of riding into the wind is that it gave me alot of time to pray and talk with God. I spent time praying about me, my family, alot of people, and Sugar Grove. As I prayed God gave me a thought. We like things to be fun. We like things to be pleasant. We don't like to be challenged. We don't like a strong head wind in our life, our marriage, or our church.
When our life gets tough there is a temptation to find a way to escape to something that makes us happy- for a litle while. When our marriage is not alot of fun there is a temptation to seek out something that makes us happier- for a little while. When church does not make us happy we are tempted to switch churches to find one that "fits us better".
However true Christian character is developed through endurance, not through seeking out something that makes us happier. Happiness is about us. It is what makes me feel good. Endurance is seeking what God desires. Instead of simply assuming that unhappiness or disatisfaction means we should switch to something that makes us happy we should start by seeking God's guidance.
As I was riding it was so tough I started singing a song... "In the name of Jesus I can do this. In the name of Jesus I can do this." Sometimes its good to be in a situation where the only option we've got left is the power of Jesus. Not pleasant, but good.
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